Dependent Origination
July 17, 2026
Chain of Misery
“Why this craving? He was not playing an intellectual game, he was not reading scriptures or discussing scriptures. He was experimenting like a scientist: what is happening deep inside?
A small little desire starts. You start liking it and how quickly it turns into craving. A small little desire to get rid of something which turns into aversion.
Taṇhā in the language of those days — craving means craving turns into clinging. Small little desires turn into craving and craving into clinging.
Why these small little desires? Even what is the cause? It became so clear because he was experiencing it.
These sensations on the body. When one experiences sensations on the body and if the sensation is pleasant, you start liking it, which very soon turns into craving, clinging.
When the sensation is unpleasant, when you experience unpleasant sensation, very soon it turns into aversion, hatred. You like to get rid of it. The craving is to get rid of it.
Oh, the sensations means the cause. The vedanā, sensation, is the cause of your craving which turns into clinging.”
Sensation <- Contact
“Why these sensations? What is the cause?
He was experimenting. What is happening there?
There is a contact and as soon as there is a contact there is bound to be a sensation on the body.
Contact of what with what? The six sense doors.
The eyes contact of the eyes with some shape, some form, some color, some light, the object of the eyes. As it comes in contact, there is bound to be a sensation.
Object of the ear sense door, a sound comes in contact with the ear sense door, there is bound to be a sensation.
Nose sense door, a smell coming in contact, bound to be a sensation.
Tongue sense door, a taste coming in contact, bound to be sensation.
Body sense door, there is a contact of something tangible, bound to be a sensation.
And the mind sense door — any thought, any emotion — there is bound to be a sensation on the body.”
Contact <- Six Sense Doors
“Why this contact?
It was so simple, so clear.
Contact means [contact through] the six sense doors
So long as one is having these six sense doors, the respective objects, the entire world is full of respective objects, there is bound to be one contact or the other at one sense door or the other.
The contact is because of the six sense doors that we carry and their respective objects in the world.”
Six sense doors <- Mind and Matter
“Why the six sense doors? What is the cause of this?
So clear means the mental structure, nāma, rūpa means the physical structure.
The combination of these two. As soon as this combination started, that means the life flow started, the continuum of the life started.
It started with these six sense doors.”
Mind and matter <- Conciousness
“Why this mind and matter, life started like this?
And it was so clear.
This flow of consciousness is there all the time and as soon as one life ends, this flow of consciousness comes in contact, arises somewhere else.
It keeps on arising, passing, arising, passing.
At the time of death it passes, then again it arises somewhere in another life, another body, and starts flowing in the same way.”
Consciousness <- Saṅkhāra
“Why this? What is the cause of it?
And it was so clear.
These mental volitional actions that take place, all mental volitional actions are responsible for the consciousness of the next moment.
This moment I generate a saṅkhāra. Next moment consciousness arises.
You generate saṅkhāra, next moment consciousness arises.
At the time of death a very deep saṅkhāra, which is like a deep line drawn on the rock with chisel and hammer, that arises on the surface, gives a strong push and the consciousness arises somewhere else.
So the flow continues because of the saṅkhāra.”
Saṅkhāra <- Ignorance
“Why this saṅkhāra?
And it was so clear.
Oh, ignorance.
Ignorance. Everybody is generating saṅkhāra because of ignorance.
What ignorance?
Not ignorant because one has not gone to any school or college.
Not ignorant because one has not read scriptures.
Not ignorant because one has not listened to Dhamma talks.
Nothing doing.
Ignorance at the experiential level.
One does not know how the misery is arising deep inside.
How there are sensations everywhere and how pleasant sensation one reacts with the saṅkhāra of craving.
How unpleasant sensation one keeps on reacting with the saṅkhāra of aversion.
This whole process continues deep inside and one at the surface level doesn’t know anything what is happening.
And this process of multiplication: generating misery, multiplying misery, generating misery, generating saṅkhāra, multiplying saṅkhāra.
Oh ignorance, ignorance.”
The complete circle
“Because of ignorance one generates [saṅkhāra].
Because of [saṅkhāra] there is consciousness.
Because of the consciousness a new life, life in mind and matter, starts.
With this mind and matter six sense doors are there.
Because of that the contact is there.
And because of the contact a sensation is there.
And because of the sensation a craving is there.
And this craving turns into clinging, into deep attachment.
And because of this deep attachment to the craving the process of becoming, becoming, becoming, the flow of life keeps on flowing.
It gets all the strength every time one comes to the end of the life.
This bhava, the saṅkhāra which is so deep, is responsible to give a new life.
So the process of becoming, becoming, becoming continues.
It does not stop at the end of the life. It continues.
And because of this process of becoming, becoming, becoming, even after death a new life starts.
Again a life, a birth comes.
And when the birth comes, whenever life starts it has to pass through all these miseries: misery of old age, misery of disease, misery of death, misery of wanted things not happening, unwanted things happening.
All kinds of physical and mental miseries one has to pass because the birth has started.”
The point where the chain is broken
“He found out the sensation as an important point from where a sort of junction, from where two roads start.
One road is a road which is full of misery.
You generate misery, you keep on generating misery because you keep on reacting every moment.
You are experiencing sensation every moment, you are reacting.
So it is a process of multiplication of misery.
And this very junction, this very point of your sensation on the body can take you to the road which is the road of liberation.
All your misery will get eradicated.
Because now when you experience the sensation you don’t react.
You just understand: anicca, impermanent.
This is what you started doing.
First important thing is that you have to be aware of the sensations.
And when you are aware of the sensations, not to react.
Every sensation should turn into paññā, wisdom.
Not every sensation to result in taṇhā, craving and aversion.
This is the path that you have chosen for liberation.
Going deeper to the level of sensation and not reacting.
The whole chain is broken here.”
~ Goenka, Day 5 Vipassana Course
